Gen-y consumers' purchase intention on video sharing platform based on trust and need for touch in China

Shopping through the short-video-based applications have become the new digital marketing. Owing to this trend, more and more Chinese sellers are starting to market through short videos. Compared with traditional online marketing approaches, short video shopping provides an intuitive, convenient, and entertaining way of promotion, enhancing the overall shopping experience. However, despite gaining high short video views, many sellers face the challenge of low purchase intentions. Responding to the calls of earlier researchers, the primary objective of this study was to examine the features that impact TikTok purchase intention among Gen-Y consumers in Mainland China. First, based on the Elaboration Likelihood Model, TikTok channel attributes (content diagnosticity, vicarious expression, and online reviews) and TikTok spokesperson attributes (social attractiveness, physical attractiveness, attitude homophily, and product expertise) were suggested as the central and peripheral routes encouraging consumers to generate a flow experience and develop purchase intention on TikTok. Second, the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) Model was applied to explain the mediating role of trust. Third, the study examined the moderating role of need for touch. Data was collected using the purposive sampling approach to identify respondents who were Gen-Y TikTok consumers in mainland China (born between 1981 and 1996) and had shopping experience on TikTok in the past three months. An online based questionnaire was distributed to target respondent via Wenjuanxing. In total, 443 responses were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS SEM). Three notable findings emerged from this study: 1) flow experience was significantly affected by TikTok channel attributes and TikTok spokesperson attributes. Purchase intention was influenced by content diagnosticity, online reviews, social attractiveness, and product expertise; 2) trust mediated the influences of flow experience on purchase intention, indicating the indispensable role of trust; and 3) Gen-Y TikTok consumers with a lower need for touch and high trust are more likely to exhibit higher purchase intention than those with a higher need for touch. This study enhances existing literature by: 1) expanding the S-O-R model's application within TikTok using ELM theory; 2) uncovering a mediation process in which flow experience affects purchase intention via trust, based on the S-OR model; 3) exploring the moderating effects of the need for touch on purchase intention. In practical terms, this study advises practitioners to embrace the digital trend and make use of short-form video commerce to enhance consumers' shopping experiences, ultimately resulting in favorable purchase intentions. Despite valuable findings, this study has several limitations. It focused on one country, so future research should examine different platforms or countries to understand cultural impacts on short-form video marketing. Additionally, future studies should compare the effects of various spokesperson types, such as virtual spokespersons, on consumer decisions. Researchers should also examine how the need for touch and purchase motivation vary across product categories.

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